KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a bus carrying government employees in the Afghan capital early on Monday, killing 24 people and wounding 42 others, Kabul’s police chief spokesman said.

The attack occurred in a western Kabul neighborhood where several prominent politicians reside and at rush hour, as residents were heading to work and students were on their way to a nearby private high school, said Basir Mujahed, the spokesman.

"The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day," he said. "There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened."

The bus was completely destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, he said, adding children were among the wounded.

In a statement the Interior Ministry called the attack "a criminal act against humanity."

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but in the past, both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan have staged such large-scale attacks in the Afghan capital.

Monday’s attack was the second against employees of the mines and petroleum ministry. Last year, a bus carrying the ministry’s employees was also targeted in an attack that killed several people.

"Once again, these terrorist are attacking civilians and targeting government staff," President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement.

Following heavy clashes in Ghor province early Sunday morning Taywara district collapsed to the Taliban, local officials said.

Public order police commander in Ghor Mahmood Andarabi, who is currently fighting on the battlefield himself, said the Taliban stormed the district center - which had only one check post manned by security forces.

He also said that a number of security forces and local residents who have been supporting troops are reportedly under siege by the Taliban.

Reports indicate there have been a number of casualties but exact numbers have not yet been confirmed.
The Governor's Spokesman Abdul Hai Khatibi said that the commander of the local uprising forces and an MP Ibrahim Malikzada, along with his fighters, are under siege close to the district.

The Taliban has reportedly killed dozens of doctors and patients at the Taywara district hospital in Ghor after seizing control of the district early Sunday.

Mohammad Aqbal Nazami provincial police spokesman said that Taliban killed all the doctors and patients in the hospital including women and children.

Taliban also torched the district hospital, Nazami added.
Although, local officials did not comment about casualties among security forces but a number of residents said that more than 30 security force members were killed in the clash with the Taliban in the district.

Nazami said that the Taliban also torched all governmental institutions in the district.

Following heavy clashes in Ghor province early Sunday morning Taywara district collapsed to the Taliban.

Public order police commander in Ghor Mahmood Andarabi, who is currently fighting on the battlefield himself, said the Taliban stormed the district center - which had only one check post manned by security forces.

He also said that a number of security forces and local residents who have been supporting troops are reportedly under siege by the Taliban.

Reports indicate there have been a number of casualties but exact numbers have not yet been confirmed.

The Governor's Spokesman Abdul Hai Khatibi said that the commander of the local uprising forces and an MP Ibrahim Malikzada, along with his fighters, are under siege close to the district.

Khatib said Pasaband district is also under siege.

Taliban said on its twitter page that it had seized control of the district and that it had inflicted a heavy casualty toll on security forces.

[DAWN] Seventy Afghans were kidnapped on Friday from their village along the main highway in the south of the country, and at least seven were killed, police said, accusing the Taliban...the Pashtun equivalent of men... of the kidnappings.

Around 30 villagers have been released but at least 30 others are still missing, Abdul Raziq, the head of Kandahar provincial police said.

"The Taliban kidnapped 70 people from their house in a village along the Kandahar-Tarinkot highway, on Friday. They killed seven of them today," Raziq said.

"Their bodies were found by villagers this morning."

"They released 30 and are still keeping around 30 others," he said, adding they were "civilian Pashtuns", the ethnicity of many Taliban fighters.

The highway runs from Kandahar, the largest city in southern Afghanistan, to Tarinkot, capital of Uruzgan province, a poppy-growing area where the Taliban have a heavy presence.

It is not clear why the villagers were seized. Government officials and security forces are usually the target of such incidents.

Civilians are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of Afghanistan’s worsening conflict as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, launched in April against the Western-backed Kabul government.

[DAWN] Taliban...the Pashtun equivalent of men... fighters overran a district headquarters in northern Afghanistan after a ferocious clash that left two police personnel dead in northern Faryab province, an Afghan official said on Sunday.

Abdul Karim Yourish, provincial police chief front man, said that the assault on the Lawlash District government headquarters was launched under the cover of darkness late Saturday.

The police headquarters are located inside a compound along with government offices.

In recent days, Taliban have launched dozens of attacks in northern Afghanistan, temporarily closing a key highway between the capital Kabul and northern Afghanistan.

The attacks reflect the Taliban's efforts to apply pressure on government troops and police across the country, and not just in their strongholds in the south and east of Afghanistan.

[AlAhram] Seven months after Libyan forces defeated Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) faceless myrmidons in the coastal city of Sirte, hundreds of bodies of foreign faceless myrmidons still lie stored in freezers as authorities negotiate with other governments to decide what to do with them, local officials say.

The corpses have been shipped to Misrata, a city further to the west whose forces led the fight to defeat IS in Sirte in December.

Allowing the bodies to be shipped home to countries such as Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt would be sensitive for the governments involved, wary of acknowledging how many of their citizens left to fight as Islamist faceless myrmidons in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

Fine. Write up a report summarizing the statistics, make the details available to loving family members and reporters for a reasonable fee, and throw the bodies overboard in the middle of the Mediterranean for the sharks to eat. There is no Geneva Convention for terrorists. And Libya is still a country riven by war, lacking the funds to refrigerate an ever-growing collection of unwanted corpses at their own expense.

"Our team removed hundreds of bodies," a member of the Misrata organised crime unit dealing with the bodies told Rooters, his face masked to conceal his identity because of security concerns.

"This is the main operation which allows us to preserve the bodies, document and photograph them and also collect DNA samples."

The crime unit said it was awaiting a decision from the Prosecutor General, who was in talks with foreign governments over the return of the bodies.

In Tunisia alone, officials say more than 3,000 citizens left to fight in Syria, Iraq and Libya. Tunisians who trained in murderous Moslem camps in Libya carried out two gun attacks on foreign tourists in 2015 that battered Tunisia's vital tourism industry.

IS took over Sirte in 2015, taking advantage of infighting between rival Libyan armed factions and using the city as a base from which to attack oil fields and other nearby towns.

...one of the NeverSisi militant arms of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, it sprang into existence, fully formed, in 2016. Greater Cairo is its area of operations, leaving the Sinai for ISIS-linked Ansar Bayt al Maqdis...

forces of Evil in a shootout during a raid on their training camp south of Cairo, the interior ministry said on Sunday.

The National Security Agency was able to discover a hideout used by the group in a desert area in Fayoum, to train "new youths elements" on the use of arms, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said the eight forces of Evil shot at police as they attempted to apprehend them.

According to the statement, two other Hasm hideouts located in Giza and Sharqiya governorates were raided, and five members of the group placed in durance vileDon't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!. Police found documents detailing upcoming terrorist operations at the two Hasm hideouts.

Sunday's announcement comes only two days after the police said they had rubbed out two Hasm leaders during a raid on their hiding place, also in Fayoum, which is around 100km south of Cairo.

[Ynet] Malian and French troops have incarceratedYou have the right to remain silent... a close associate of a preacher whose jihadist group has claimed dozens of attacks against Western and Malian targets, Mali's security minister said on Sunday.

Macina Liberation Front,

...also known as the Macina Brigades, for some reason, a jihadi group that emerged from Al Qaeda in North Africa in 2015 and now is part of the Group to Support Islam and Moslems. The Group formed in March of this year when Macina merged with Ansar Dine and al-Murabitoun...

based in central Mali's Mopti region, is led by holy man Amadou Koufa who has called upon followers to take up arms and rebuild the historic Fulani empire of Massina.

Interestingly, on July 15th another emir in the Macina Brigades, Bekaye Sangare, was killed by Mali's National Guard. Possibly this is not a coincidence.

Rocketry Force in Yemeni army and popular committees fired late Saturday a retaliatory ballistic missile on a Saudi oil facility in the kingdom’s western Yanbu.

Al-Massirah TV quoted a military source as saying that the new ballistic missile Burkan-2H was used for the first time and successfully hit the refineries.

The source noted that the oil refinery in Yanbu is 1,000 km far from the border with Yemen.

Yemen has been since March 2015 under a brutal aggression by Saudi-led coalition. Tens of thousands of Yemenis have been injured and martyred in Saudi-led strikes, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

The coalition has been also imposing a blockade on the impoverished country’s ports and airports as a part of his aggression which is aimed at restoring power to fugitive former president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

However, the allied forces of the army and the committees have been heroically confronting the aggression with all means.

The fact that the police left the area in both cases may indicate that the demonstrations were held with the quiet consent of the authorities, which made it possible to "let out steam" against the Jews.

Two threatening demonstrations and mounting cases of vandalism against synagogues in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....--apparently carried out with the regime's tacit support against the backdrop of the Temple Mount crisis--are raising concerns among the country's Jewish community.
Continued on Page 49

[AlAhram] A 22-year-old Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, man has been charged with attempting to support terrorism by allegedly using social media to promote the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and offering to join the organization, according to court documents.

Federal prosecutors allege Amer Sinan Alhaggagi "went so far as to meet with undercover agents on multiple occasions to plan a potential terrorist attack," said a court filing unsealed Friday.

Alhaggagi, an Oakland, California, resident, has been in jug since November on unrelated identity-theft charges.

His defense lawyer told the the Socialist paradise of San Francisco...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964... Chronicle that the latest allegations are baseless and stem from idle talk in late-night internet chat rooms.

"Amer is a very young and naive person, and it appears that he allowed himself to be drawn into conversations that he should have been far more suspicious of," attorney Mary McNamara said. She said Alhaggagi was unemployed at the time, had just turned 21, and "just got drawn into online communities" with other "young men staying up late at night."

The federal grand jury indictment charged Alhaggagi with attempting to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. The case has been assigned to a federal judge in Oakland. An arraignment has not yet been scheduled

Between July 24 and Nov. 29 of last year, the indictment said, Alhaggagi was "opening social media accounts understanding and intending that such accounts were to be used by, and for the benefit and promotion of, ISIS, and personnel, in the form of himself, to a foreign terrorist organization, namely ISIS," using the acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The terrorism charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The indictment did not give details of the social media accounts or specify how, or to whom, Alhaggagi offered "personnel, in the form of himself" to the terrorist organization.

Alhaggagi spent "significant lengths of time" in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...and was involved in planning "certain terrorism-related conduct" before he was juggedDrop the rod and step away witcher hands up!, according to court documents from a December detention hearing. According to court documents, federal agents worried Alhaggagi might flee the country, citing statements he allegedly made saying he planned on escaping to Mexico after engaging in a terrorist attack.

Alhaggagi is also being indicted on three other charges including aggravated identity theft, which hold penalties of a combined 27 years in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the East Bay Joint Terrorism Task Force and began last August, according to court records.

The indictment alleges Alhaggagi committed three counts of identity theft offenses, including using a stolen credit card to make nearly $5,000 in fraudulent online purchases from a clothing company.

The investigation began last July and was conducted by the FBI, the Special Prosecutions and National Security Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division, the Berkeley Police Department and members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, including the Oakland Police Department.

If convicted, Alhaggagi could face up to 47 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count.

[DAWN] A Khasadar personnel was martyred and another was injured when an improvised bomb (IED) went off in Khyber Agency... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though...'s Sheen Drang area on Sunday, said security sources.

The injured official was transferred to a hospital in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. after the blast occurred.

Security personnel cordoned off the area soon after the blast occurred. No group or individual has grabbed credit for the blast yet.

A Fata Research Centre report said earlier this year that the incidence of terrorist attacks in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas increased by 72 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 compared to the last quarter of 2016.

The Pakistain Army had launched Operation Raddul Fasaad (RuF) in February following a spate of terror attacks in the country, which claimed more than a hundred lives and left hundreds others injured.

The operation seeks to eliminate the "residual/latent threat of terrorism", consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistain's borders.

Hundreds of suspected Death Eaters have reportedly either been killed or tossed in the clinkDrop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! in raids carried out by security personnel since the start of the operation.

Earlier this week, the Pakistain Army launched Operation Khyber-4 under RuF to "wipe out terrorists" in the Rajgal Valley area of Khyber Agency.

[DAWN] The military's media wing on Sunday said that the army has cleared two strongholds of Lions of Islam in the Rajgal valley during the ongoing Operation Khyber-IV.

The Spinkai Top dominating Saprai Pass and Star Kille have been secured and are "effectively dominated by the Pakistain Army", read a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The army was targeting terrorist hideouts "by artillery and army aviation" which has dismantled Lions of Islam who are "on the run", the ISPR quoted IG FC Major General Shaheen. The operational commander further said that Khyber-IV was progressing as planned.

On Saturday, the army announced that it had completed the first phase of Operation Khyber-IV in the Rajgal area of Khyber Agency... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though... after gaining control of a key mountain top.

"Khyber-IV’s Phase-I has been completed after clearance of Brekh Muhammad Kandao," ISPR said in an update on the operation that started last Sunday.

Two soldiers have been martyred in the operation in which over 90 square kilometres of a total of 250 square kilometres have been cleared.

ISPR Director General Major Genral Abdul Ghafoor had announced the launch of Operation Khyber-IV under Radd-ul-Fassad last week to "wipe out terrorists" in the Rajgal Valley of Khyber Agency that he called "the most critical area in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas".

On Saturday, a policeman’s wife was injured in a bomb blast that hit al-Jahiza region, in west of Baqubah.

IS holds pivotal regions that link between each of Diyala, Salahuddin and Kirkuk, posing threats to the liberated regions.

Some areas in Diyala have seen a surge over the past months in bombings and armed attacks against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians, which urge Iraqi forces to prevent the militants infiltration between Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, especially the regions stretching along Hamreen mountains and Al-Azeem town.

Fallujah (IraqiNews.com) Two policemen were killed in a blast that took place at the entrance of Fallujah city, Anbar province, Interior Ministry has said.

In a statement, Brig.Gen. Saad Maan, spokesperson of the ministry, said Anbar police arrested driver of a vehicle, which was revealed to be booby-trapped, at al-Halabsa region, at the western entrance of Fallujah city.

“The vehicle exploded while being handled, leaving a lieutenant general and another officer killed and a third policeman injured,” Maan added.

Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them. However, Anbar’s western towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it emerged to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate.

“An IED, planted on the side of a road in Radwaniyah area, west of Baghdad, exploded early today, leaving two civilians wounded,” the source said.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that a security force arrived to the explosion scene and cordoned it off. The two injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

On Friday, three civilians were reported wounded in an IED blast northern Baghdad.

Bombings and armed attacks are seen on almost a daily basis against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.

[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy says more than two dozen hurt in protests, no injuries reported on Israeli side.

More than two dozen Paleostinains were maimed in fresh festivities that broke out on Sunday night in Jerusalem and the West Bank as Paleostinians continued to protest against security measures at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

The continued violence comes after three Paleostinians were killed in festivities with Israeli forces on Friday during riots over the Temple Mount metal detectors, and two more were killed Saturday, including one who died when a petrol bomb he was planning to throw at Israeli security forces went kaboom! prematurely.

Also on Friday, a 19-year-old Paleostinian infiltrated into the West Bank settlement of Halamish and stabbed to death three members of the Salomon family at a Shabbat celebration.

Thousands of Moslems gathered to pray outside Lions’ Gate, next to the holy site, known to Moslems as Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary). At the conclusion of the prayers riots broke out which police broke up with stun grenades and other forms of riot control. Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy said that two people were maimed there and brought from Lion’s Gate to the hospital with injuries from the festivities.

In the Jordan Valley a Paleostinian man was lightly hurt from IDF fire after trying to flee from soldiers. According to the army, troops stopped his vehicle near the Bedouin village of Jiftlik and asked the man to present his documents. He told them he had left his papers at home. During the journey to his home, followed by the soldiers, he tried to to escape in his vehicle and then on foot. After he failed to heed warnings to stop, troops shot him in the leg. The man received initial treatment at the site and was later taken by the Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy for further medical treatment.

Elsewhere, two Paleostinians teens were lightly maimed by IDF fire, as they approach the settlement of Tzofim, near the West Bank city of Qalqilya. IDF medics treated the two at the scene. According to the IDF, they were seen setting tires on fire near the settlement when an IDF force nearby ordered them to leave, then shot in their direction.

There were also festivities at the Qalandiya checkpoint, located between Jerusalem and Ramallah. The Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy said in a statement that it was treating 10 people injured there. Three people were shot by rubber-coated bullets, six suffered from tear gas inhalation, and one person from a fall, the Red Islamic Thingy said.

Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy also said it treated 15 people who were maimed by tear gas inhalation in Abu Dis.

At the entrance to Bethlehem protesters set fire to mock metal detectors.

#2
Even more serious than that, g(r)omgoru. This is a rapidly moving story. When newc first submitted it, all we knew was that there was an attack in which a Jordanian died and an Israeli was wounded. A few hours before the midnight rollover the article was completely rewritten as seen above, then g(r)omgoru's brawl.

An Israeli embassy security guard in Jordan shot two Jordanians to death Sunday evening after being stabbed with a screwdriver.

The security guard was attacked by a 17-year-old Jordanian wielding a screwdriver and managed to kill the assailant. The owner of the building where the attack took place—a Jordanian doctor—was struck by a stray bullet and killed.

Israel is refusing to allow Jordanian authorities to question the security guard under the Vienna Convention and as such, all security personnel and diplomatic employees are currently confined to the embassy compound.

The Foreign Ministry believes the incident to be a terrorist attack related to the events surrounding the Temple Mount.

Additionally, according to ministry officials, the 17-year-old attacker entered the home of an embassy official apparently to replace furniture, whereupon he happened to encounter the Israeli security guard and the Jordanian property owner.

The terrorist then came up behind the security guard and proceeded to stab him with a screwdriver, prompting the guard to produce a firearm and open fire at his attacker, killing him and the landlord.

After details began to emerge, Israel informed Jordan that according to the Vienna Convention, the security officer is immune from all criminal charges and civil suits in Jordan, and he will not be subject to arrest or interrogation. Currently, there is no official Jordanian request for the extradition of the Israeli security guard.

Diplomatic officials said they believe the young man decided to attempt to murder an Israeli out of nationalistic motivations and had it not been for the guard's swift reaction, the incident could have ended differently.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the Israeli ambassador in Jordan, Einat Schlein, on Sunday along with the security guard who was stabbed.

Both the Foreign Ministry and security officials are working through various channels with the Jordanian government in an attempt to contain the situation.

The information department of the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate (GID) issued a statement that police received reports of shooting inside a residential building used by the Israeli embassy. Shortly thereafter, Jordanian security forces arrived at the scene and surrounded it in order to begin an investigation.

The GID statement also added that responders discovered three wounded persons, one of them an Israeli citizen, and began administering first aid.

Initial GID investigations reveal that the two Jordanians entered the building prior to the incident. It is also being reported in Jordan that the GID will update the public prosecutor's office with all details of the investigation, in accordance with Jordanian law.

According to Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad, the attacker, 17-year-old Mohammed Zakariya al-Zawawdeh died after being shot twice, while the Israeli security guard was stabbed in the chest.

Al-Jawawdeh had previously done maintenance work in the Israeli embassy and its residential compound.

Raqqa (Syria News) 25 civilians were either killed or wounded in a Russian air raid using cluster bombs, east and south of the city of Raqqa, a source told Qasioun News on Sunday.

The source said that the Russian air force bombarded the city of Madan and Zor Shamr Camp, south and east of Raqqa, using cluster bombs, killing six civilians and wounding 19 others, while also struck Alburamadan town near Madan City, but without leaving casualties.

In the same context, Syrian Network for Human Rights documented the killing of nearly 1400 civilians, including 308 children and 203 women in the ongoing battles between the Islamic State group and Syrian Democratic Forces.

It is noteworthy that ongoing battles are taking place, between the Islamic State radical group and Syrian Democratic Forces in the besieged city of Raqqa.

[AlMasdar] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed their offensive operations in the southeastern countryside of the al-Raqqa Governorate, Saturday, targeting the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....’s (ISIS) positions near the Euphrates River.

Led by their Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army scored another advance in the southeastern countryside of al-Raqqa, capturing a number of villages that were under the control of the Islamic State murderous Moslems.

According to the Tiger Forces’ official page, the Syrian Arab Army liberated the villages of al-Dakhilah, Bir al-Sabkhawi, and al-Sabkhawi in al-Raqqa’s southeastern countryside today.

With these villages liberated, the Syrian Arab Army is now withing reach of the Euphrates River and the Deir Ezzor provincial border with the al-Raqqa Governorate.

Meanwhile, activists from Afrin affirmed that rebels in the city of Azaz and its vicinity shelled using heavy artillery, today, the villages of Gilber and Basela in the countryside of Afrin, inflicting material damage to the civilians property and agriculture land.

The shelling reached the vicinity of Rubar IDPs Camp in the same area, causing dozens of displaced persons to leave to the nearby villages, the activists added.

It is noteworthy that Rubar IDPs Camp suffered recently from a similar shelling, leaving several casualties among the IDPs.

[AlMasdar] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), led by the 5th Assault Corps, and other pro-government combat outfits have burst open the last feasible defensive line that ISIS has before the strategic town of al-Sukhnah.

After capturing a number of key points and hilltops earlier today, the SAA and its allies continued their advance, taking new points and a series of important hilltops north of al-Hayl gas field to a distance of 4 kilometers.

In particular, the mountain chain the SAA has just entered into possesses the very last series of hilltops within a great tangle of mountain chains that stretches all the way back to Palmyra. Ironically, the rough Arabic translation for the name (rather be it an expression) of this last mountain chain before al-Sukhnah is "the end of the Palmyra chain hills."

These last aforementioned hilltops are extremely important insofar as their capture will give pro-government forces total fire control over al-Sukhnah.

This reality alone will likely push ISIS to withdraw from the town instead of fighting the SAA under conditions in which the terrorist group’s forces will be completely annihilated.

Thus, after a slow advance over past week and suffering relatively high casualties, the SAA has finally been able to breach the Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....’s most pivotal defensive line in the area around al-Sukhnah and advance into the last strategic terrain before the town itself.

Now al-Sukhnah’s liberation is within sight and pro-government forces could reach the gates of the town, or even take it back from ISIS completely, within a single week now.

[AlMasdar] Early yesterday, the emir of Ahrar al-Sham...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...’s ‘Manufacturing Workshop’, Abu Raed Al-Jee, announced his and his crew’s defection to the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group. This development occurred not long after a truce was agreed on between the HTS and Ahrar al-Sham in Idlib Governorate.

The Manufacturing Workshop in question contains a huge stockpile of mortar shells, making it a very valuable asset for Ahrar al-Sham.

In response to this defection, Ahrar Al-Sham sent an armed convoy toward the workshop area to seize back the site and prevent the group’s munitions from falling in to HTS hands.

Upon the convoy arriving, clashes erupted between Ahrar al-Sham loyalists and the defected militants in and around the vicinity of the workshop.

The clashes lasted until the evening hours of yesterday and resulted in the defectors surrendering and agreeing to terms set by the Ahrar al-Sham leadership whereby they could leave the area for HTS-held territory in Idlib after ceding the workshop and its contents back to the possession of Ahrar al-Sham.

[AlMasdar] On Saturday, the dead body of Abu Muhammad al-Shuhayl was found in downtown Idlib in what most local sources claimed was an assassination by poison.

While other reports claimed illness or a heart attack, Abu Muhammad Al-Shuhayl was nevertheless proclaimed dead after being found lifeless in his home.

Abu Muhammad Al-Shuhayl was a founding member of Jabhat Al-Nusra (now known as Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham) and served as a high-ranking military commander up until his death.

His death follows several days of infighting with Ahrar al-Sham, a rival group to Al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise branch, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS). In previous months, HTS has also cracked down on Islamic State sleeper cells across rural Idlib along with any Free Syrian Army (FSA) group opposed to its strict Sharia implementations.

[AlMasdar] The city of Idlib has fallen completely under the control of the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group. Historically, control over the city had been divided between HTS and various Islamist rebel groups, namely Ahrar al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA).

Despite the ceasefire agreement reached two days ago between HTS and Ahrar Al-Sham, the former nonetheless launched a surprise attack on the last bases and checkpoints belonging to both the latter and the FSA today.

Firefights erupted for several hours, however in the end, Ahrar al-Sham and FSA forces based in Idlib were pushed to entirely withdraw from the city.

This development puts Idlib city entirely under the control of a designated terrorist organization. Many analysts believe that the strategic repercussions of this move by HTS will actually be of a nature that sees the jihadist group suffer more than benefit.

The main speculation in this regard is that it is now quite possible that Russia, Turkey and the US-led coalition will combine efforts to bomb bases, troop housings, ammunition depots and tactical position of HTS within the city – all of this serving to fundamentally weaken the military capabilities of the terrorist group.

[AlMasdar] Two rebel fighters &dash; one of them is a senior field commander &dash; from the FSA-affiliated Ahfad al-Rasol Brigade were killed as a roadside kaboom hit their vehicle in the southern province of Daraa.

Mowafak and Mousa Mahammed were traveling on Gharz Highway to the east of Daraa city when an IED destroyed their car, killing both immediately.

No one has yet grabbed credit for the attack.

A province-wide ceasefire brokered by the USA and Russia is being implemented for approximately two weeks so far with the Syrian Army withdrawing some of its troops from the frontlines.

Local activists reported the attack to be an act of vengeance among rival rebel groups in the area.

[AlMasdar] With the Tiger Forces scything their way through ISIS in southern Raqqa Governonate and today unofficially entering into Deir Ezzor Governorate, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies in eastern Homs Governorate continue to roll back the terrorist group also.

Today the SAA ‐ led by the 5th Assault Corps ‐ and other pro-government combat outfits continued their operation towards the strategic town of al-Sukhnah liberating a number of important points and hilltops in the area northeast of the T-3 pumping station.

The advance resulted in the capture of around three squared kilometers of territory and has now put pro-government forces within striking distance of the al-Dabibat oil field.

On another axis, the SAA advanced 1.5 kilometers east of the al-Hayl energy complex (to the northeast of Palmyra).

The gains made today were part of a three-day operation which resulted in particularly high ISIS losses. At least 30 Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....bad boyz were potted and another 20 plus injured as a result of the push on both axes. Essentially, the jihadist group suffered dead and maimed almost to the equivalent of two platoons worth of infantry on a single front over the course of several days.

The al-Dabibat oil field is a massive complex situated to the southwest of al-Sukhnah. The liberation of the area would give pro-government forces a large forward base from which to conduct the final assault on al-Sukhnah.

[AlMasdar] On Saturday morning, the Free Syrian Army... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...’s (FSA) Osoud al-Sharqiya branch deployed two BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), Hezbollah and Iraqi volunteers in the desert of southern Syria.

Targeting government-held positions in southeastern parts of Rif Dimashq province, the FSA launched dozens of longe-range rockets on Tall Mahruta, a hill near the border with Jordan that was brought under SAA control earlier this month.

Due to a lack of manpower and being heavily outnumbered by the SAA and its paramilitary allies, the FSA relies primarily on artillery barrages to keep pro-government forces in check.

Al-Masdar News was unable to determine whether or not the SAA and its allies sustained any casualties following the rebel bombardment.

Osoud al-Sharqiya (translates into Lions of the East) represents one of three FSA factions operating in the Badia Desert. The two other groups are the known as the Ahmad al-Abdo Martyrs Brigade and Jaish Maghawir al-Thawra.

These rebel forces are supported by US, British and Norwegian special forces that are based around a military base at the al-Tanf border crossing. The FSA fighters all originate from Sunni tribes in Deir Ezzor but fled to Jordan following ISIS’ takeover of the province. Subsequently, they were vetted and trained by US special forces and funnelled back across the border.

Unfortunately for the aforementioned FSA groups, Donald Trump...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... recently ordered the CIA stop all aid to their forces, leaving them to fend for themselves. In turn, persistent rumours indicate the US-led coalition’s ground troops at al-Tanf will evacuate to Hasakah province instead.

[AnNahar] Hizbullah...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... on Sunday pressed on with its assault in the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal, seizing more strategic points from the hands of the Fateh al-Sham...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... jihadist group, which was known as al-Nusra...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front before announcing a severing of ties with al-Qaeda.

Hizbullah's military media unit said the group's fighters achieved major progress in Arsal's outskirts in the morning, capturing al-Oueini valley, "an important Nusra post in the outskirts."

Hizbullah also took the strategic Shoabat al-Qalaa mountain which, according to the military media unit, lies 2,350 meters above sea level and oversees the al-Dobb and al-Rihan valleys.

State-run National News Agency meanwhile reported that Hizbullah was firing rockets and heavy artillery at the Wadi al-Kheil valley area and advancing towards the heart of the valley which separates Arsal's outskirts from the town itself.

According to NNA, artillery and rocket fire was also targeting al-Nisr valley amid a notable advance towards the al-Shayyar hill.

Hizbullah's military media unit meanwhile announced that "64% of Arsal's outskirts and 66% of Flita's outskirts" have become under the control of Hizbullah and the Syrian army.

Also on Sunday, the Saraya Ahl al-Sham rebel group announced a ceasefire in Arsal "in preparation for negotiations."

According to the military media unit, 46 Nusra snuffies were killed in Arsal's outskirts and 23 others were killed in Flita's outskirts on Sunday while dozens of the jihadist group's fighters were maimed.

Hizbullah had launched its long-awaited assault in the border region on Friday and has lost at least 15 fighters in the ongoing battle.

[AnNahar] Army intelligence agents on Sunday placed in durance vileKeep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Lebanese national Khodr al-Fliti in the northeastern border town of Arsal, media reports said.

As TV networks described Fliti as a dangerous terrorist, state-run National News Agency said the man is accused of "working for the terrorist Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and trading with and transporting arms and explosives aimed at targeting army patrols."

The development comes amid a major Hizbullah offensive in the town's outskirts against al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front. Hizbullah intends to wage an operation against the IS group in the border region in the coming days, according to media reports.

[AlMasdar] The Lebanese Hezbollah fighters resumed their offensive against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham along the Lebanon-Syria borders after negotiations with the terror group failed.

According to field sources, Hezbollah fighters stormed HTS command center in Haqa bal-Khayl located to the east of Arsal barrens, in addition to making significant advances in several points and hilltops in the jihadist-controlled area.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Army troops, backed by Hezbollah fighters, managed to impose full control on Flitah barrans in west Qalamoun.

In a related context, Saraya Ahl al-Sham; an Islamist group fighting alongside HTS in Arsal, declared they are halting fight after accepting the terms of an evacuation deal with the Syrian government and Hezbollah.

As per the deal, around 200 militants from Saraya Ahl al-Sham will be evacuated to Syria’s north.

The deal was ruled out by HTS; the Syrian al-Qaeda branch, which re-ignited the clashes between the two warring parties.

Up to 50 HTS jihadists have been killed in Arsal (East Qalamoun), 20 in West Qalamoun since the offensive began four days ago.

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State members are offering women they captured from Mosul for sale in Kirkuk, a local source was quoted saying Saturday.

The source told Alsumaria News that the women were kidnapped from Imam Gharbi, a village in southern Mosul from where the militant group was expelled by Iraqi security forces last week. A marketplace was set up for the purpose at one of the group’s headquarters in Hawija, 55 km southwest of Kirkuk, according to the source.

The abductees were offered to IS leaders for various prices, he added.

Islamic State has held Hawija since 2014, when the group emerged to proclaim a self-styled “Caliphate” in a third of Iraq and Syria. Since then, the group, according to news and humanitarian reports, has been infamous for holding women captives, forcing them to marry group members or work as sex slaves. The group has also killed thousands of civilians for attempting to flee its domains or collaborating with security forces.

Local tribal leaders and politicians from Kirkuk have mounted pressure on the Iraqi government to hasten with invading Hawija, suggesting that its people were experiencing a humanitarian crisis under the group’s rule. Having concluded its campaign in Mosul, the Iraqi government is planning to launch further offensives at other IS pockets across Iraq, including Hawija.

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) A local source revealed on Sunday that 350 civilians had escaped areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS) west of Anbar governorate, according to Anadolu Agency.

Mayor of Rutba city in Anbar province, Emad al-Dulaimi, told Anadolu that 350 civilians, mostly women, children and the elders, managed to flee the IS-controlled areas of Annah, Qaim and Rawa west of Anbar Province before arriving to an office for displaced persons in Rutba city.

“Displaced people paid $300 per person to smugglers in order to escape the terror group,” he added.

Security forces and tribes currently control Rutba, where forces occasionally receive families who have escaped areas controlled by the IS

Iraqi troops were able to retake the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others. However, Anbar’s western towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it emerged to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate.

Despite being occasionally pounded by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition fighter jets, there has not been an officially-declared military campaign to free those regions.

Last week, dozens of Islamic State militants were reported killed and injured in airstrikes launched by the Iraqi army and U.S.-led coalition in western Anbar.

Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State have evacuated many of its main headquarters in Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, a local source from Nineveh was quoted saying.

“IS has carried out emergency evacuations over the night at many of its main headquarters in Tal Afar, in west of Mosul, after some of them were targeted over the past few days, which left many of its leaders and fighters killed and injured,” the source told AlSumaria News.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added “the group carried out the evacuations over the night due to its growing doubts over the people’s cooperation with security services, which contributed to the accurate airstrikes and inflicting losses on the group.’

IS flags, according to the source, remained on the top of evacuated buildings.

Earlier on the day, an anonymous source was quoted by AlSumaria as saying that huge explosion occurred at a field clinic, where IS injured militants are treated in the town, which urged the group to block the main roads.

“A huge blast took place in a residential building in Tal Afar town,” the source said adding that the building was found out to be a medical clinic for the injured militants.

“The reason behind the explosion is unknown,” the source said adding that the clinic is located in a residential alley, where families of Arab and foreign fighters are living.

Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesperson of the U.S.-led coalition against IS, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Tal Afar will be the next target of operations after victory was declared in Mosul.

On Saturday, 17 IS female members were killed and injured as unknown missile targeted a headquarter of the all-women al-Khansaa brigade in the town.

News reports mentioned that powerful blasts rocked the western suburbs of Tal Afar, earlier on Saturday, as airstrikes targeted a building with huge amount of explosives inside.

Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah, of the Nineveh Operations Command, had said that the fourth phase of liberation will be launched soon to free Tal Afar and other regions to complete the liberation of the whole province.

Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014.

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State has ordered execution of one of its senior leaders over spying, southwest of Kirkuk, a security source said.

“The self-styled chief of the IS legislative court has ordered on Sunday evening the execution of one of the group’s prominent leaders in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk,” the source told AlSumaria News. “The leader, abu Omar al-Jabouri, is known to be close to the group’s supreme leader abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.”

The group’s judge, according to the source, accused Jabouri of treason and espionage against the group.

Earlier on the day, a source was quoted saying that the group banned mourning ceremonies for its dead members in Kirkuk in order not to demoralize its fighters.

Hawija has been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria. The group executed dozens of civilians and security members there, forcing thousands to flee homes.

IS still holds three towns in western Anbar close to the borders with Syria, in addition to a few areas in Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk.

Dozens of residents from Hawija and the regions in its vicinity escape to Kirkuk province on a daily basis. Despite the risky routes to the freed regions, the civilians prefer death to staying under IS control.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.